Combat is one of the most vital parts of the game. The player will have to learn how to fight enemies in dungeons properly and effectively in order to accomplish the game. There are many different enemies in the game; nearly every single one of them requires a different approach and strategy to be defeated. Same applies for Weapons and Armor available in the game.
Every weapon type and armor set is used efficiently in an exact way. For example, Swords and Shields allow Will to be flexible and effective in many different ways and playstyles, while the size and weight of Big Swords limit your movement, yet deals more damage compared to weapons of the same tier.
Collapse
If Will's health drops to 0, he succumbs to his wounds and collapses before he is eventually tossed out of the Dungeon by a mysterious force. When this happens, he will lose all of the artifacts currently in his inventory, except what's remaining in his pockets (the top row). It also takes him 12 hours to recover; if he enters at night and collapses, Will appears outside of the dungeon during the day, just as if he had left the dungeon normally. Keep this in mind when you are planning your business days to carry out customers' orders.
Difficulty
Each dungeon has its own unofficial difficulty. This means that the enemies in the Golem Dungeon are easier to kill than those that the player will face in the Forest Dungeon. Players need to upgrade both their weapons and armor to advance through the Dungeon (or be exceptionally good at dodging and have great patience). However, keep in mind that no matter how strong Will or his equipment is, the dungeons themselves may prove to be environmentally challenging with natural traps, such as pitfalls, poison, lava, and electrified water. The difficulty of enemies also increases through each Dungeon, from stationary enemies to enemies that weave around the room to make themselves harder to hit.
The difficulty settings chosen at the beginning of the game or through the settings menu when in Rynoka appear to only affect enemy stats and not their AI, meaning they will still move the same but have less health and deal less damage (needs verification).
Equipment
During combat, the player's objective is to deal as much damage as possible while receiving as little damage as possible. In order to do that, the player should choose equipment most suited to one's playstyle. When it comes to armor, the player can choose pieces from among three sets:
Fabric (light) - This set of armor grants less maximum health than other sets in exchange for faster movement, making Will more vulnerable to damage but faster in general making it easier to avoid attacks and outrun enemies.
Iron (medium) - Iron set of armor is a point of balance between maximum health and movement speed. This armor doesn't improve your movement speed but it gives you more maximum health than the fabric set.
Steel (heavy) - Heavy set of armor gives Will more maximum health than any other set, but limits movement speed making Will run slower.
There are five different weapon types currently in the game, each with a unique playstyle. See the Weapons page for detailed info on each weapon available in the game.
One has to choose equipment and utilize its advantages effectively.
Knowledge, experience and skill
To some players that haven't played any games similar to Moonlighter with these types of combat mechanics, it may seem difficult. However, the most important thing is not to give up and keep learning. Although skill is not all it takes: it's also important to know your enemy, and in order to do that one can either play and see for oneself how enemies attack and move, or just read about their abilities and properties here on the Moonlighter Wiki (that's its purpose right?).
One helpful tip, if you're struggling, is to use the pendant to leave a dungeon whenever your inventory is full. In the short term, this is a helpful strategy, because it will allow you to sell (see Selling and Reactions) all of the items you collect, giving you money that you can then spend on upgrades (and Potions, which can be very helpful in combat or exploration). When in doubt, pendant out and sell what you have, and before long, you'll have all of the Shop Upgrades you need to succeed.